Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) causes a variety of signs and symptoms, such as low back pain (LBP), intervertebral disc herniation, and spinal stenosis, which contribute to high social and economic costs. IDD results from many factors, including genetic factors, aging, mechanical injury, malnutrition, and so on. The pathological changes of IDD are mainly composed of the senescence and apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), the progressive degeneration of extracellular matrix (ECM), the fibrosis of annulus fibrosus (AF), and the inflammatory response. At present, IDD can be treated by conservative treatment and surgical treatment based on patients'' symptoms. However, all of these can only release the pain but cannot reverse IDD and reconstruct the mechanical function of the spine. The latest research is moving towards the field of biotherapy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are regard as the potential therapy of IDD because of their ability to self‐renew and differentiate into a variety of tissues. Moreover, the non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are found to regulate many vital processes in IDD. There have been many successes in the in vitro and animal studies of using biotherapy to treat IDD, but how to transform the experimental data to real therapy which can apply to humans is still a challenge. This article mainly reviews the treatment strategies and research progress of IDD and indicates that there are many problems that need to be solved if the new biotherapy is to be applied to clinical treatment of IDD. This will provide reference and guidance for clinical treatment and research direction of IDD.     

基于Curvelet变换和SPIHT算法的医学图像感兴趣区压缩

目的：提出基于Curvelet变换和多级树集合分裂排序（SPIHT）算法的图像感兴趣区（ROI）压缩方法,并应用于医学图像压缩。资料与方法算法流程首先对图像ROI进行提取,保留ROI不压缩,对背景区域进行Curvelet变换,采用SPIHT算法对Curvelet系数进行编码;然后进行Curvelet逆变换得到有损压缩后的图像;最后将ROI区域与背景区域叠加,得到压缩后的完整图像。采用峰值信噪比作为评价指标,比较ROI压缩和整体压缩的效果,以及小波变换和Curvelet变换用于图像压缩的效果差异。结果分别对测试图像和医学图像的压缩结果进行比较,采用ROI压缩的视觉效果优于整体压缩的效果,更能突出ROI;而采用Curvelet变换压缩的峰值信噪比高于小波变换压缩,相同比例的压缩图像也更清晰。结论基于Curvelet变换和SPIHT算法的ROI压缩可在保证不丢失重要诊断信息的前提下实现图像的高效压缩,符合医学图像压缩的高精度、高质量要求。     

关于医学信息学学科理论体系的思考

学科理论体系存在微观和宏观之说。介绍医学信息学的内涵,阐明其学科性质与定位,指出医学信息学的学科理论体系主要由学科支撑理论、学科基础理论和学科应用理论3部分组成,并对各部分进行具体阐述。     

正畸美学区的CBCT测量分析

目的探究正畸美学区,包括面下1/3前牙区牙槽骨、切牙位置以及唇部软组织在不同矢状面型、年龄及性别之间的差异性。方法 2012年6月至2013年5月间在山东大学口腔医院进行治疗的60例12~50岁汉族人,根据不同矢状骨面型、性别和年龄分组。根据头影测量ANB的角度分为3组:骨性Ⅰ类(1°5°,18例,30%),骨性Ⅲ类(ANB≤1°,19例,31.7%);根据性别分组:女性41例(68.3%),男性19例(31.7%);根据年龄分组:青少年组12~19岁22例(36.7%),青年组20~29岁20例(33.3%),中年组30~50岁18例(30%)。分别进行锥形束CT(CBCT)测量分析。骨性分组以及年龄分组采用方差检验和多个独立样本检验(Kruskal-Wallis检验),性别组间用独立样本t检验。结果 1不同矢状骨面型之间,骨性Ⅱ类患者前牙区牙槽骨及切牙过度萌出,骨性Ⅲ类患者下唇缘点的唇厚度最小;2不同性别之间,骨和软组织的各项测量值男性均大于女性;3随年龄增长,切牙区牙槽骨的高度、切牙的位置以及唇部软组织变化明显,而牙槽骨的宽度和骨皮质厚度基本稳定。结论正畸美学区在不同的矢状面型、性别和年龄间呈现一定的变化规律,有利于指导临床决策。     

新信息环境下专业图书馆的定位

介绍了目前专业图书馆信息服务面临的困境,分析了社会、专业图书馆自身和其用户对专业图书馆的定位及其自身定位与其用户定位不同的原因,从馆藏资源、馆舍空间、技术团队、核心竞争力等4方面对专业图书馆定位提出相关建议.     

白细胞介素-1O启动子区域627位基因多态性与乙型肝炎肝硬化的关系

目的研究IL-10启动子区627位点多态性与乙型肝炎肝硬化的关系。方法应用聚合酶链反应-限制性片段长度多态性（PCR—PFLP）等技术检测220例乙型肝炎肝硬化患者及200名健康对照者IL—10启动子627位等位基因及基因型频率的分布情况,分析其与肝硬化发病风险的相关性。结果IL—10启动子627位点AA和CA基因型及等位基因A在乙型肝炎肝硬化中的分布明显高于对照组（x^2=7．46、5．72和13．78,P值〈0．01或0．05）。结论IL-10启动子627位点基因多态性与乙型肝炎肝硬化相关。     

Rabies vaccines: WHO position paper,April 2018 – Recommendations

This article presented the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations on the use of Rabies vaccines excerpted from the Rabies vaccines: WHO position paper – April 2018 published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record [1] This position paper replaces the 2010 WHO position paper on rabies vaccines [2]. It presents new evidence in the field of rabies and the use of rabies vaccines, focussing on programmatic feasibility, simplification of vaccination schedules and improved cost-effectiveness. The recommendations concern the 2 main immunization strategies, namely vaccination for post-exposure prophylaxis and vaccination for pre-exposure prophylaxis. In the context of post-exposure prophylaxis, recommendations are also provided on the use of rabies immunoglobulins.Footnotes to this paper provide a number of core references including references to grading tables that assess the quality of the scientific evidence, and to the evidence-to-recommendation tables. In accordance with its mandate to provide guidance to Member States on health policy matters, WHO issues a series of regularly updated position papers on vaccines and combinations of vaccines against diseases that have an international public health impact. These papers are concerned primarily with the use of vaccines in large-scale immunization programmes; they summarize essential background information on diseases and vaccines, and conclude with WHO’s current position on the use of vaccines in the global context. Recommendations on the use of cholera vaccines were discussed by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) in October 2017; evidence presented at these meetings can be accessed at:http://www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2017/october/presentations_background_docs/en/.     

Speed-invariant encoding of looming object distance requires power law spike rate adaptation

Neural representations of a moving object’s distance and approach speed are essential for determining appropriate orienting responses, such as those observed in the localization behaviors of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus. We demonstrate that a power law form of spike rate adaptation transforms an electroreceptor afferent’s response to “looming” object motion, effectively parsing information about distance and approach speed into distinct measures of the firing rate. Neurons with dynamics characterized by fixed time scales are shown to confound estimates of object distance and speed. Conversely, power law adaptation modifies an electroreceptor afferent’s response according to the time scales present in the stimulus, generating a rate code for looming object distance that is invariant to speed and acceleration. Consequently, estimates of both object distance and approach speed can be uniquely determined from an electroreceptor afferent’s firing rate, a multiplexed neural code operating over the extended time scales associated with behaviorally relevant stimuli.